The Friend Zone
by emzypemzy
Summary: Part Two of a 3-story series. Companion piece to "Couldn't Possibly Mean Kevin" - that was Garcia's turn, this is Morgan's.


_**Part Two of a 3-story series. [Part One: Couldn't Possibly Mean Kevin]**_

_**Please excuse any very obviously British/Scottish/English sayings; I guess I'm so used to them I didn't/don't even think twice about putting them in chapters!**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own a thing. Boo.**_

_**-x-x-x-x-**_

"What can I get you?" Tommy asked Derek and George, it was his round this time. The three of them had been sat in a back booth in Morgan's 'local' bar for the last two hours or so batting back and forth stories from their Bomb Squad days, reminding each other of days some had forgotten and eagerly recounting their best days.

"Just another beer thanks." Morgan said, tilting his empty bottle towards him in indication.

"Same for me." George agreed.

It had been quite a while since they had all last met up; usually one of them was too busy with their jobs or in George's case; with his family. They had been such a tight-knit group due to their high pressure job that it felt strange not knowing what was going on in their lives, and so they tried to meet up at least once a year, just to catch up on each other's lives and share stories from their "glory days".

When Tommy came back to the table with three beers he handed them out and as Morgan took a hearty gulp his mind began to wander to the one person that was missing this weekend: Garcia. Usually he would meet her for dinner before meeting these guys if it was in Virginia, or at some point the day after to tell her all the stories from his Bomb Squad days that they had reminded him of, she always seemed so interested in what he had used to do, although he could tell that she was glad he no longer did it: that job was definitely the most high risk he had done. However, this weekend she wasn't there, she was in New York and he didn't want to dwell on the fact that he would miss her. It would take his mind and his heart to places that he knew he really shouldn't be going: they were just friends after all. Ever since she and Lynch had broken up he had finally been able to make a move, to try and see if she also thought that they could be so much more than what they already were, but she didn't seem to be reacting to his moves; it seemed Penelope Garcia had him firmly in the "Friend Zone" and it had never sucked more to be in that area, in fact it was the only time it had actually been in that area!

"Derek are you still with us?" Tommy laughed, waving his hand in front of Morgan's face.

"Uh, yeah." He said, shaking himself out of his wandering thoughts. "Yeah, I'm still here, sorry I've got a lot on my mind at the moment."

"No worries, man, why don't you talk to Uncle Tommy?" He asked, outstretching his arms and both George and Morgan just laughed at their friend's antics.

"You're not exactly my first port of call on all things women related my man, no offense."

"None taken." He replied genuinely non-plussed. "But Georgie Boy here could be the answer to your prayers right now," He said, clapping George on the back. "It's crazy how much he's got is sussed with Suzie."

"You really do have it good Georgie Boy." Morgan agreed, chuckling a little at Tommy's nickname for their friend, knowing it would be driving George insane.

"And don't I know it!" He replied, ignoring the annoying nickname. "But what's eating at you Derek? Having trouble with your latest? Pauline is it?" George asked, wracking his brains to try and remember who Morgan's latest was.

"Pauline?" Morgan asked with a laugh, wondering who on earth his friend was thinking of. "Who's that? You going senile in your _old age_, old timer?" Morgan joked, they had always took great pleasure in reminding George that he was the oldest of the three of them.

"Obviously not her then." George said, his brows creasing. "The red head? The one I met last time I passed through here with Suzie on the way to her parents', it still her?"

Morgan racked his brains to the last time that his old pal had been through this way. If his memory was to be trusted it was about 4 months ago, and the girl he had been seeing – well sleeping with was a more accurate description – was...Heather, and as far as he knew he didn't even _know _a Pauline, where on earth had Pauline come from?

"Last time you were here I was...with...Heather, the dietician and sure she was a red head but where on Earth'd you get Pauline from?" Morgan said with a laugh.

"Nah, not that one, I was sure it began with P, maybe not, but she was blonde I know that much." George mused, wishing for once that he'd paid a little more attention to Derek's long list of women.

"Hold on," Tommy interrupted George's train of thought. "Georgie, do you mean the blonde with the _killer _curves that was shooting all sorts of nicknames back at him?"

The only one that fit that bill was Garcia. Was he really that obvious that they had thought he was after her? He wondered, well surely she would have noticed then, too.

"Penelope." He murmured without meaning to; she was the only one that fit that bill.

"That's the one!" George said, "Penelope Garcia, the fiery red head that knew how to give you as good as you gave out! Now I liked her, and so did Suzie, kept going on and on about how great you two were together all the way back home! She was so glad you seemed like you'd finally found someone. What's up?" He asked noticing Morgan's expression. "Trouble in paradise?"

"Not exactly." Morgan said with a somewhat self-depreciating laugh. "Considering I've never actually dated her."

"You gotta be kidding on, man? You definitely looked like you had it bad, you had Suzie convinced, and that's saying something!" George said before turning to Tommy: "I've never seen him look so whipped." He said with a smirk.

"Oh ho, but knowing Mr Original Bomb Squad Casanova over there he'll have gotten to 'paradise' with her." Tommy said somewhat crudely.

"Nope." Morgan said simply, his tone broking no uncertainties. "Not this one guys. Not now, not ever it seems."

"Seriously? Suzie had me convinced you two were together, and I gotta say what she said was backed up by how you two acted."

"The Friend Zone." Tommy said somewhat dramatically as he read Derek's reactions to George's words. "Our boy here does have it bad, he's just stuck in that oh so nasty realm. Bad luck Derek."

"The Friend Zone really does suck." Derek said, draining the rest of his beer in one go.

"If you weren't seeing her back then then you were definitely sending out signals or something, even I can read that much and I'm not a profiler." George joked.

"I thought I was." Derek said with a sigh. "Apparently it doesn't matter 'cause my Baby Girl doesn't see me as any more than a friend."

"Hold on, I didn't realise she was the infamous Baby Girl!" Tommy jumped in, stopping Morgan's mind from leading him to wallow completely.

"The one and only." Morgan said softly.

"Well this is the only girl you have never shut up about so you better get your mind out of this 'I'm-stuck-in-the-Friend-Zone-wallowing' and give her the full on Derek Morgan charm." Tommy said with an encouraging grin.

"I've been doing that for the last six months Tommy, she has me firmly in that _zone_."

"What happened to Derek '_Casanova_' Morgan? Go woo her you idiot!" George broke in with a laugh at his old friend. Derek had it bad, that much was obvious in both how he was acting and his tone right now: the big bad FBI agent didn't want to put himself out there much more than he already had for fear of getting his heart broken.

"Listen to the married one Derek, even though he almost got us _blown up_ in Louisiana, he does know what he's talking about in this area." Tommy joked, poking fun at a rather serious moment where they almost hadn't made it out alive. He was rewarded with a sharp jab of George's elbow to his ribs. "Ow. You know I'm only telling the truth. I mean you were there..." He said, rubbing his ribs with one hand and taking another drink before launching into another retelling of the "Louisiana Fiasco".

By the end of the night Morgan left the bar with many more memories to share and a lot to think about. Lying in bed that night he knew one thing for sure: he was going to make sure Garcia knew that he didn't want to be in the Friend Zone, he wanted that and so much more. He was just going to have to up his game even further in order to make her see that.

He was definitely up for the challenge, especially where his Baby Girl was concerned.

_**-x-x-x-x-**_

_**It's a lot harder to write "Guy Chat" than I had first thought! The 3**__**rd**__** and final part will be up in the next few days =)**_


End file.
